We carved pumpkins with the kids last night, but my mind (Brains! Brains!) was on the Zombie Walk, which looked like it was yet another feather in the cap of organizer Rob Bliss and our fair city.

Press photographers T.J. Hamilton and Hollyn Johnson got some great shots and the gang at Spout.com did a nice quick-hit video. There has to be enough B-roll from all the video taken to put together a pretty good indy zombie flick.

Keep up the great work, Rob.

Bland Rapids?

A dead downtown has never looked so alive.

Yeah, but what are those buildings going to look like?We didn't run the drawing of the new Wealthy Street building that's being planned to replace the building that blew up in Eastown with today's story.

I guess that's why they created blogs. Take a look at what Nate Gillette over at Bazzani sent over.

Nate said the front will be brick while the sides will be a combination of brick and siding. What do you think?

It's Italian. It's turkey. It's sausage. It's pizza crust?Farther west down Wealthy Street Brick Road Pizza is making the final push toward a Nov. 17 grand opening (with a soft opening leading up to that day).

The restaurant's specialties will include Chicago-style deep-dish and a meatball crust that includes one pound of Italian turkey sausage. (Call Andrew Zimmer about this one.)

In the meantime, the new pizza parlor is planning a vegan pizza buffet to showcase some of its specialty pizzas for Monday. Tickets are $10. Call 719-2409 or stop by 1019 Wealthy St. SE for more information.

When regular hours get going, Brick Road plans to feature a lunch buffet Monday through Friday and on Tuesday nights. Take and bake pizzas will be available for a quick take-home dinner.

Here's a bit more background from the press release:

"The Brick Road Pizza Company is a family affair. Husband and wife owners, Cindy and Jody Talbert, always planned on running the business with their children, Sarah Piper and Nicholas Talbert. Sarah will work as the assistant manager for the front of the house and Nicholas will cook and manage the kitchen staff.

"The entire family's talents are reflected in the Brick Road's eclectic and creative decor. Jody crafted booths, tables and counters from repurposed and recycled doors. Sarah's jazz mural as well as walls adorned with musician's portraits reflect the family's love of music. Nick custom framed all of the restaurant's many photographs. Sarah hand painted the tables with unique themes. Cindy's plants and pots of herbs thrive throughout the restaurant.

"Jody describes the family's goals for the restaurant in this way, "Our hopes are simple. We want to maintain a good relationship with our neighbors, provide good food to fit everyone's budget and provide an income for our family. Customer satisfaction is what we will focus on. We hope people will help us become a landmark in the community."

I look forward to giving it a try. Between this, the soon-to-open Electric Cheetah, Wing Heaven and the Meanwhile, the Wealthy/Diamond area is a glutton's delight.